I've heard a lot of mixed things about both. I guess I could just GET both, but I want Neverwinter Nights also.

Anyway, which game is better? I've played and loved the BG games and their ruleset (I played with TuTu, so I guess that's AD&D 2), and since IWD1 is based off of that same set I'm pretty sure I would enjoy it.

But I'm also wondering if it would be too familiar, especially since most of the game is a giant dungeon crawl of killing things from what I've heard. The appeal for me is creating all 6 of my characters - I did that in BG but the game just isn't designed for it.

I hear that IWD2 has a much nicer interface, better graphics, and uses the 3.0 rules that introduce feats (of which I know a little from KOTOR, but other than that...no). But apparently it's not balanced as well and isn't as interesting. It's supposed to be shorter though, and have more outdoor locations (which I enjoy).

So, which to get? Graphics aren't that important to me, but I like nice art design (like I thought BG's wilderness with TuTu was utterly gorgeous), and being able to understand the interface is very important.

I think IWD1 is generally considered the better game, and IMO it does have the more memorable locations. I had more fun with IWD2, there being more of killing goblins mucking about in a town, and other down to earht stuff, but your mileage might vary.

Both have a fair share of varied locations, both have good plots if very much more linear than what in BG series. Obviously lots of killing stuff as well.

Yeah, IWD1 uses the same 2.x ruleset as BG series, while IWD2 is 3.0 (the same as Neverwinter Nights). By my view, IWD 2 has a bit better graphics and nicer interface, but IWD1 has a silght edge in area design.

I'd start with 1, if just because IWD2 sort of continues the story here and there. It doesn't really matter much, they're separater stories but there are like, echoes in IWD2 of what happened in IWD1.

Both are a hell of a ride. If you liked BG you'll probably end up playing both anyway.

Get both. They're far better than Neverwinter Nights which you won't enjoy. NWN is a toolset for creating your own adventures with the main campaign as demo adventure. Pregenerated blocks put together instead of hand drawn graphics and and its early 3D graphics have aged very badly. Gameplay is even worse, I didn't even finish it while I played both IWD games many times, I liked them even more than the BG games.

The IWD games are balanced well, even better than the Baldur's Gate games. The IWD interface is very similar to BG2 while IWD2 has been a modernized a little and uses the 3E rules. If you like planning, creating and developing your own party you'll love those games.

I might have to disagree on this, having put about 1000 hours into NWN.
(and with thousands of community modules out there, I could have spent 10 times as much)

Ok, the graphics are blocky early 3D, but the animation is great, and I love the gameplay.

I prefer IWD2, and I've spent more hours on it, but IWD1 is a good game too. IWD2 reuses a lot of characters and locations from IWD1, and it doesn't really do a terribly good job of explaining what happened in the first game, so if you're playing 2 first, there will probably be a few moments of "Why is this important?" or "Am I supposed to know this guy?" They don't really affect the story, but you might feel like there's something missing. I found the combat to be more interesting but HoF mode to be poorly balanced.

IWD1 uses the BG1 engine, so it has trouble with pathfinding and it doesn't allow dual-wielding, but otherwise it's pretty solid, apart from the initial village. You need to be careful to do some non-fighting quests before you try to tackle the goblins, or you'll likely lose a character or two. The game is pretty balanced once you get to Kuldahar, though, and IMO the story is better. HoF mode is more balanced in the first game.

The final version of IWD1 including the expansions which GOG offers doesn't use the BG1 engine, it uses an improved BG2 engine, HoW was released after BG2.
The goblins in the starting village are no problem if you use the starting gold to equip your party properly instead of running around naked.

Guess I'll go with IWD1 then. I will be getting NWN also instead of IWD2 if only because there are a lot of community modules that sound fun - I know the main campaign is rubbish.

Thanks for all the input.

I can't really put my finger on why, but IWD2 never grabbed me. My first play through about halfway I realized I had no idea on the plot and got bored. I went back two years ago and forced my way through it. I added the NPC mod from G3 which I think helps a lot to make it more than just a linear dungeon crawl.

I loved IWD when it came out. While I did find the story a bit lacking, I still had a lot of fun with it. I've never gone back and played it again though, while I have played BG1&2 more times than I can count.

I'll agree with ncarty97 on IWD2. I think the v3.0 rule set got in the way.

As for IWD1, check out the Gibberlings 3 forums. In development: IWD-in-BG2. It's a full conversion of IWD1 into the BG2 engine. I've been a beta tester since it was started and beta testers were first requested - a thread started on April 1st, April Fool's Day, and most took for a joke thread. I encountered only one major bug in the latest run, which made finishing the HoW expansion impossible. Maybe it's a bad animation, maybe something else. I was, however, able to finish everything else.